When the pandemic first began, I felt like I could take on the world and I started to work on aspects of my life that I was ignoring with the grind of working, trying to earn a Master’s degree, balancing a social and family life, as well as, looking for internships. However, after a couple of months, I started to get a little burnt out on everything. Working and attending class from home helped me to feel better mentally in terms of not having to constantly commute from one place to another but the lack of separation made it hard for me to feel motivated to cultivate wellness in my life. Then, the opportunity to be a wellness coach and work with the Apportis app presented itself. I felt that this was my chance to be accountable with myself and hopefully help others along the way.

My experience as a wellness coach really helped me to look critically at my own wellness and find actionable steps I could take to foster wellness in all aspects of my life. The Apportis app was instrumental in this process because it provided me with helpful resources that I could use in my personal life and share with others like assessments, activities, and general information about different aspects of the wellness wheel. Using the Apportis app to connect with others also helped me get through the feeling of isolation that has come with the pandemic. Connecting with peers bi-weekly to learn how we can cultivate wellness in our lives was a great experience and the Apportis app helped to make that happen.

Having dealt with some of the negative effects COVID-19 has had on my mental health, I think all colleges could benefit from offering the Apportis app to students, faculty, and staff. The app allows individuals to connect with clinicians without Wi-Fi connectivity which can be instrumental in helping people get the help they need. Apportis is an invaluable resource and my hope is that more colleges invest in their students’ mental health and personal wellness.